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Friday Links for Educators 01.24.14

Ah, January. Starts out slow: everyone back from holidays, refreshing December’s learning, slowly starting new units… Not so much! Somehow, entering dates for spring semester makes it clear how quickly we shifted from the “start of the year” to “is that really May I’m planning for?”

With all the demands of regular planning, we’re also looking ahead with resolutions for a new year. For my own part, I’m reflecting on what has been going well, but pushing myself to where I want to grow and improve next.

All of that includes some great online reading. Below are some of the best reads for this week. As always, be sure to let me know what you find useful, what you would like to see more of, or leave your own links in the comments. Have a great week!

This is actually one of my favorite reads, lately: a great article that gives concrete advice on what is really needed when students bog down in reading — concrete to-dos for student and teacher, alike.

As much attention as education might put into differentiating to reach struggling students, it can be to easy to overlook the need to differentiate with enrichment for gifted students. This site is rich with information and links for resources to benefit gifted learners.

Make our own apps? This link utterly fascinates me and terrifies me, at once. Haven’t you had a moment where you thought, “If only there were an app that would…”? What if you could write (and sell?) that app yourself? If anyone tries this out, be sure to let us know how well it worked!

The idea of do-overs was hotly debated in a recent Twitter thread, as the need to differentiate and allow genuine learning is held out against a fear that do-overs devalue grades. From a series of videos on differentiated instruction, Rick Wormeli gives his perspective.

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What About You?

This week, my reading came about while looking for resources on specific approaches in differentiation and assessment. What goals are you working on in your teaching? Are you registering to attend a workshop or conference, or are there blogs or links you’ve found useful? Let us know what your challenges, successes or favorite resources have been, by sharing in the comments.

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